O'Brien leaves Penn St. for Texans

Bill O'Brien inherited a Penn State program rocked by scandal, on the cusp of crippling sanctions, and staring at a murky future.

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By The Associated Press

MailTribune.com

By The Associated Press

Posted Jan. 3, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 3, 2014 at 2:40 AM

By The Associated Press

Posted Jan. 3, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 3, 2014 at 2:40 AM

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Bill O'Brien inherited a Penn State program rocked by scandal, on the cusp of crippling sanctions, and staring at a murky future.

All he ever really cared about was making the Nittany Lions winners.

O'Brien succeeded against heavy odds, overcoming a lack of scholarships, a bowl ban, and player defections. He leaves the program on stable ground after bolting Happy Valley for the NFL and the Houston Texans.

Penn State planned to act fast to find his successor.

"Our anticipation is that we'll be counting this in a matter of days rather than weeks," Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner said Thursday.

O'Brien left the Nittany Lions less than two years after replacing Joe Paterno, returning to the NFL to coach the team with the league's worst record this season.

Naturally, Joyner said there has been tremendous interest already in the vacancy, which should be more appetizing than in 2012. A former offensive coordinator for the Patriots, O'Brien took on perhaps college football's toughest job in January 2012, joining a school rattled by the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

"I think it's a lot more attractive at this point, although we had tremendous interest even in spite of everything two years ago," Joyner said. "From a scholarship standpoint, we're going to be very competitive right out of the gate. Watching what's happened here the last two years, if I was a head coach candidate, would make me very excited."

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson is interim head coach while the search for a replacement goes on.

"I'm humbled by the confidence that Penn State has bestowed upon me during this critical time for the football program and honored to do my part to help Penn State," Johnson said.

O'Brien will become the third coach in Texans history, following Dom Capers, who led the team from its expansion season in 2002, and Gary Kubiak. O'Brien was set to be introduced Friday in Houston.

Kubiak took over when Capers was fired after a 2-14 season in 2005. Kubiak went 61-64 and led the Texans to their first two playoff appearances and two AFC South titles before being fired in early December.

Houston was expected to contend for the Super Bowl this season, but instead lost nine games by a touchdown or less to end up 2-14.

"In your lifetime, you only get certain opportunities so many times," O'Brien told reporters at a Houston airport. "This is a great opportunity to work with an owner like Mr. (Bob) McNair and an organization like the Texans. It is a very exciting time for myself and my family."

O'Brien was proud of his time at Penn State.

"They gave me my first opportunity to be a head coach, and I'll always thank them for that," he said. "They're great kids at Penn State; lot of great people there."